Butternut Squash Mac ‘n Cheeze: Two Ways

March 10, 2011Angela (Oh She Glows)

by Angela (Oh She Glows) on March 10, 2011

I have been dying to add butternut squash into my Mac ‘n Cheeze recipe ever since I featured Lou’s Macaroni Un-Cheese recipe in my Recipe Link Love last week. Butternut squash pureed into macaroni and cheese just sounds like a match made in heaven, doesn’t it? It is also a fun way to sneak in another veggie.

I also happen to love Butternut Squash, but I always forget to buy it at the grocery store, so this was a great reminder to buy one.

I ended up playing around with my original cheese sauce recipe and I made two versions, the second one I will be sharing with you today.

The first thing you do is peel and chop half of a Butternut Squash. Place it into a bowl and add a teaspoon of olive oil and some salt ‘n pepa!

Roast in the oven for 40 minutes at 425F, flipping once half way through baking. You can do this ahead of time if preferred.

Buttery squashy deliciousness!

While the squash is roasting, make your ‘cheeze sauce’ in the food processor. I adapted my original recipe quite a bit and I was really happy with the result. This cheeze sauce is also easier to make than the other version which is always nice.

Now, add the roasted squash into the cheeze sauce and process until smooth. It makes about 3.5 cups of sauce.

Cook your desired pasta. I used a full bag (~450 grams or 4.5 cups dry pasta) of Brown Rice Penne for the casserole option.

Drain the pasta and add in the cheese sauce. Depending on how much sauce you want, you might not use it all. I also added some peas and you can get creative with any kinds of mix-ins you want. Broccoli is also fantastic. You can also add a bit of non-dairy milk if the sauce thickens up too much.

At this point you can enjoy your pasta a couple ways:

1) Heat the mixture in the pot and serve immediately.

2) Pour the mixture into a casserole dish, top with breadcrumbs, and bake in the oven for about 20-25 minutes.

For my first trial, I baked it in the oven and for the second trial I enjoyed it heated up straight from the pot without baking. I think I like it straight from the pot because it isn’t as thick and heavy as the casserole.

If baking in the oven, add on your breadcrumbs.

After, 20-25 minutes you have a fun B’nut Squash Mac ‘n Cheeze that will serve 3-4 people for a main course.

If you serve it straight from the pot, the great thing is that you can make only as much as you want. If you only want 1 serving of pasta, you can add as much sauce as you need and then store the rest in the fridge. I’m not sure how long the sauce keeps in the fridge (3-4 days would be my guess), but I’m sure the sauce recipe can also be halved too!

1. Preheat oven to 350F and line a baking sheet. In a bowl, season chopped squash with some oil (~1 tsp) and kosher salt (couple pinches) and stir. Add to baking sheet and roast in oven for 40 minutes, flipping once half way through baking.

2. If making the baked casserole: Process 1 slice of bread + 1 tbsp Earth balance until crumbs form in a food processor. Set aside. If you plan on enjoying it straight from the pot you can skip this step.

3. Assemble your cheeze sauce ingredients (cashews, non-dairy milk, garlic, lemon, salt, nutritional yeast, pepper, mustard, seasonings) and add just the cashews to food processor. Process until a fine crumb forms similar to corn meal. Now add in the rest of the cheese sauce ingredients and process until smooth. Leave the sauce in the processor as you will be adding the squash.

4. Cook your pasta according to package directions. When squash is finished roasting, add it to the food processor and blend it with the cheese sauce until smooth. Adjust to taste. The sauce will thicken up with time. If at any point the sauce becomes too thick, you can add a bit of milk to thin it out.

5. Drain and rinse pasta with cold water. Now add the pasta back into the same pot and add your desired amount of cheeze sauce on top. Stir well. Add in any desired mix-ins like peas or broccoli. You can either heat this up in the pot, or pour it into a casserole dish (I used a 4 cup dish), sprinkle on breadcrumbs + paprika, and bake it at 350 for about 20-25 minutes. The casserole will serve about 4 people if you use 450 grams dry macaroni or penne. Store any leftover sauce in the fridge and use within a few days.

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The first trial I made came out just OK (I think I used too much lemon juice and cashews), but Eric and I both enjoyed the second trial! You can’t really detect the butternut squash, but it does provide a nice flavour overall and I love getting in another vegetable. For the second trial, I reduced the lemon, cut the cashews in half, and adjusted the rest of my cheeze sauce ingredients.

I encourage you to adjust the sauce to your own taste buds because I find that vegan cheeze sauces are such a ‘personal preference’ kinda thing!

The casserole is fun, but I think for simplicity sake, I prefer heating it up in a pot and enjoying it immediately. I’m an instant gratification kinda gal when it comes to pasta.

Reno Talk

Thank you for your nice comments and suggestions on my home reno before and after post. :) A couple readers suggested that the living room would look great withNavy paint and I think that is a lovely idea! Navy and orange go together really nicely. I talked to Eric about it and he loved the idea too. I think we might use Navy walls with white trim for the living room. I have a feeling it might be tough to pick a shade of navy though. If anyone out there has a shade of navy paint they enjoy, I would love your suggestions!

Oh no!! haha, well thanks for letting me know….maybe I’ll attempt to replicate it one day once I become a bit better at veganizing recipes. Your blog is wonderful by the way! Thank you so much for sharing your amazing ideas!

Hi Tracy, I’ve had readers report that the sauce freezes and defrosts really well! If you try it, I’d love to hear how you find it goes, too. I’m drawing a huge blank on kid-friendly blog recipes right now … off the top of my head, I’d say my Almond Butter Rice Crisp Treats and Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes with Vanilla Almond Frosting should go over well! Hope that helps a little. :)

Mmmm! You could pretty much puree any veggie and stick it in this mac ‘n cheeze (maybe pumpkin?). I love that purple color it’s so pretty.
I’m in love with all things girly, especially in a bathoom where you have a big ‘ol bathtub and can light candles and just relax.
Please don’t tell me that’s your bathroom. I will be green with envy.

Ange, you literally just opened up a whole new world for me. I’m thinking a mexican mac and cheese done with calabaza squash? Squash + mac is absolutely ingenious.

Even though I am not completely vegan, I do try to eat as few animal products as possible. Recipes like these remind me that eating what’s good for my body and the planet doesn’t have to mean bowl after bowl of raw veggies and brown rice – love the innovation!

Butternut squash sounds amazing in Mac n cheese! Any way to add more veggies I am in! Oh and I love that bathroom! If my husband didn’t mind, we would have the most frilly Girly house…but he definitely minds hahah

Ohh this mac and cheese looks amazing, I LOVE butternut squash in mac and cheese but have never tried it vegan, definitely will be making it this weekend, luckily I have everything on hand :) you are amazing!

Mmmm… I’ve been using butternut squash in my mac and cheese for awhile (your recipe!) It’s SO good and makes it extra creamy! I cook up a whole squash and then freeze it individually chopped. Then when I’m cooking my noodles, I toss in some pieces until warm and then pop them into the blender!

You take the BEST food pictures….”sigh” wish we had butternut squash here….=( or any yellow squash for that matter….
Anyway, that color that you like for your bathroom just so happens to be my FAVORITE color ever! its gorgeous!

for nutritional values try ‘myfitnesspal.com’ just enter all the ingredients and adjust the amounts, either as a meal or a recipe, and it should tell you! but i have to say, I tried this sauce tonight, and i wouldn’t care how many calories it has! It was delicious and it’s all good calories! First attempt at a vegan cheesy sauce, impressed!

I’ve made both sweet potato and pumpkin versions of mac & cheese (non-vegan), and a butternut squash version has been on my list for a while now. I haven’t loved vegan mac & cheeses that I’ve tried in the past, but this one looks fantastic! I will definitely try this out on a night that my husband has a dinner meeting or is out of town for business – he’s not a squash fan like I am ;).

Ooh I love the navy idea for the living room. My favourite shade is the last inspiration picture you posted. I think the first is pretty but awfully dark and could end up making your space look really small. The bathroom colour looks pretty too. I’m excited to see what you end up with! :)

We painted one wall in our kitchen/dining area a similar color to the navy in the second photo. I loved it. It has since been re-painted a soft yellow because I feel the need to change paint colors quite often.
I’m having serious cravings for the butternut squash mac’n’cheeze now. I need to make some right away! It looks wonderful.

Mmmm….love the looks of that. It’s been too long since I had butternut!

This is kind of random, but how old is your house? I’m guessing it’s Victorian era? I ask because my parents’ house is from the 1860s, and they’ve considered getting rid of the crown molding ceiling decor in order to install overhead lighting, but we had a guy come look at it and say that those features actually increase the value of the house if they’re original. Just a thought!

This mac n cheese sounds so good! I love the idea of adding butternut squash. I bet a spicy version would be really good too (if you’re into that sort of thing), with jalapenos or roasted poblanos…kinda like a pepperjack sort of flavor?

I love the idea of navy and orange!
However, don’t go too dark – my room used to be navy and I had huge windows so it worked well with the sun, but if it’s took dark it may be depressing, especially next to your orange!
I vote the second or third navy pictures your posted – the first one I think is too dark.
Just something to think about!

Also, I agree with the lavender colour – it just makes you feel so clean and shiny!

AHHH!! I’ve been making a pasta-butternut squash casserole that my M-I-L sent me the recipe from for one of her Weight Watchers files, and while it’s one of my favorite dishes (I swapped out all of the gross, plasticky, fat-free ingredients for the real deal, although I kept the whole wheat pasta), I’ve never even thought to include mashed squash in regular mac n cheese! You’re a genius! I wonder how it would be with a little bit of curry powder and cumin added… if I have the ingredients at home, I’ll try to find out!

We do find it very similar as a cross between an alfredo and mac n cheese sauce. My mom likes it better than her own mac and cheese casserole!
It is totally a personal preference thing though. Ive tried many vegan mac and cheeze recipes that I found were off. I think it is good to add the ingredients slowly and keep tasting until you find something that works for you taste buds!
This recipe above is my favourite so far.

I think the lighter navy blues would be better for the room, depending on the size. Especially, if you live in a climate that has a lot of grey days…it may make you feel hemmed in and claustrophobic, you know? A lighter shade may brighten it up and make it look bigger, too. Dark shades SHRINK a room like nothing else. I love the home renos you have done so far, so I’m sure the living room will look equally fantastic, regardless.

What a great idea! Love the navy for the living room. I would just suggest for going with something on the lighter end of navy, because at night it will seem even darker than you wanted, plus it’ll make the room look smaller the lighter you go.

I have cashews soaking and butternut squash to use up…this recipe was made for me today!! Is the cashew sauce you gave the one with the cashews already reduced? Or did you end up halving the amount of cashews from that recipe?

That mac and cheeze looks amazing :) I have to try cheeze sauce one of these days…I bought the cashews to try it but haven’t gotten around to makeing it…this looks like a good reason! Oh, and I love the navy!

Lavender for the bathroom would be perfect!! Growing up, my mother is a huge huge lavender fan and TONS of my childhood house memories are of lavender and floral prints, Laura Ashley circa 1985 type stuff…and even tho it may look 1985 now,the color palate of lavender and white I think is just so pretty and I think lav would rock for your lav :)

I love the blue bowl you photographed it in; just highlights the mac so well!

Also I featured your cupcake recipe yesterday in a post of mine and everyone raved about your last cupcakes. Not that you didn’t get rave reviews on your own post, but you got them on my site too. Everyone loved those cupcakes :)

You should give it a try. My husband also eats squash to be polite, and likewise is not a fan of beans. I love both. I discovered that I could make a great chili variation using both purreed beans and squash that we both loved.

Give me that BLUE DISH right now!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am in love. The mac n cheese looks outstanding…you know I love this recipe and the butternut squash sounds perfect. I bet you could also make a version that isn’t as garlicky, but adding a little nutmeg to the mix! yummm

oh wow, i want that bathroom! (especially the bathtub.) as strange as it sounds, bathtubs are harder to come by in Sydney, our apartments are smaller because real estate is so expensive. one day though, old fashioned bathtub is the dream…sigh… :)

Hi Angela! I live in Georgetown so we are almost neighbours especially compared to where many of your readers live! I love seeing your home reno projects. I am imagining that your house is possibly a Century home and looks like you’re out in the countryside of Halton Hills. Any chance we can see some outside shots of your lovely home?

Hi Angela-
I cannot tell you how much I love your blog. It is beautiful and innovative. I have one *completely* off the subject query for you. I am a yoga teacher and vegan in the United States, and an animal rightish type of gal. Being from the US, I am so heartbroken every year when the Canada Seal Hunt season begins, as it is in a few days. (Not that we don’t have a bjillion awful animal rights violations in the US, we certainly do!) But I wondered, as a vegan, Canadian blogger with a powerful web presence, would you ever do a post on animal rights, and talking about the Seal Hunts, and what, both Canadians and Americans could possibly do to call attention to the seal slaughter and hopefully end it someday very soon.
Thank you for listening and considering, and for your lovely blog.
Clare @ thevegini.com

I bet you could make this without the cashews for those with nut allergies or who can’t afford the raw cashews – just use extra butternut.

Also, a tip about roasting the squash. You can roast it whole, just pirce it a few times with a fork, and then you don’t have to risk chopping off your fingers with the really hard raw butternut! That’s how I always cook them when I am going to puree them. They still get that roasted flavor – just cook until the skins are nice and browned. The skin just peels right off!

Oh, that turquoise casserole is so pretty and bright! I love how it looks in contrast to the orange mac and cheeze.

I think the navy is a great idea! I just know with that color you have to be careful about the shade/gauge the amount of natural light so the room doesn’t end up looking like a cave! I like the idea of leaving the crown molding on the ceiling. I think that would be really elegant and interesting if you painted over it. It’s those details that add uniqueness to a home, in my opinion. I’m loving all the reno updates!

There was a sale on rice pasta a couple of months ago at our local superstore. I got a little too excited and bought 30 bags. They were $1.50 each. How could I not? Anyways, I have pasta coming out of my ears and this recipe looks DELICIOUS! I’ll have to give it a try!

I think navy is a perfect color choice and I’m loving the lavender color as well.

Oh I love me some vegan mac and cheese! I created a really easy recipe last week and it was so good.. I used to to squash in my kids mac and cheese way back when… wow.. time flies when I think about it

I need Butternut Squash Mac N’ Cheeze in my life. This looks so delicious. I also think I need Avocado Cream pasta in my life….I’m thinking, maybe I should have a Mardi Gras re-do and name it “Pasta-Fest 2011: Inspired by Oh She Glows.”

Yum! I made this for dinner and added broccoli and peas when I baked it. Also, threw in some rutabaga with the butternut. My non-vegan mother loved it (and me too!). I was so proud at my first attempt at vegan Mac n cheese :)
… Your reno’s look so fun an fab! Lavender is love!

I love navy! It’s the color i picked for my wedding. It’s very royal looking. We painted a color from Sherwin Williams (do you have any around you?) its called Bungle house Blue. It’s so beautiful and rich feeling. I love picking out colors! Have fun picking one out!

Your original Mac n’ Cheeze recipe is by far my most favourite “Oh She Glows” recipe! I make it all the time. Since I only make it for myself (i refuse to share!) I divide the sauce mixture in to 1 cup amounts and freeze it. It defrosts really well! I also use smoked paprika, which kind of gives it a smoky taste that reminds me of hot dogs and macaroni I had as a kid! When I am feeling particularly naughty, I sprinkle some daiya shreds over it (only if I have decided to splurge on it, it’s soy-free – but still a very processed item)….can you tell i make this often?

I can’t wait to try it with butternut squash and broccoli mixed in! Thanks for the update!

Hey
If you wanna save yourself some work on the whole cutting and dicing of the squash, i would reccomend the following:
Halve and scoop out the seeds, score the cut surface and sprinkle with salt and olive oil. roast for 30 minutes and scoop out lots of lovely soft squash.
I often avoid buying the squash coz of the dreaded cutting.

I will definitely give this a try! I’ve been trying to be better about eliminating dairy from my diet (I’m lactose intolerant) and while I never use regular milk, I still want things like mac ‘n cheese from time to time. I can handle a small amount of dairy, but a scoop of mac ‘n cheese is really too much for my poor tummy. So excited about this recipe!

I would definitely leave the crown molding as is, and paint over it the same colour as the ceiling. It adds so much character and interst to the room. And I love the navy living room in the first pic! Your renos are coming along beautifully!

Angela, your beautiful bakeware has me green (cerulean?) with envy! Where did you get those adorable blue bakers? Their easy-grab handles, color, and the fact they come with lids are all features I’ve been trying to find in a nice shallow baker. (Why are there so many casserole dishes in this world WITHOUT LIDS??) Thank you for everything — your blog brightens my life in countless ways.

i made this butternut squash mac tonite – i couldn’t stop my normally disciplined finger from dipping into the cheeze. This is not my first time trying to make a cheeze sauce with nutritional yeast – but this is my first time loving it! We poured over spiral pasta and the 3 of us, husband, 2 year old boy, and i gobbled it up. all of it…THANKS!!

Decided to make this for dinner Friday night for my husband and sister. Then found out we were having a couple friends over! I was a little worried about trying a new dish out with company (and non-vegetarians at that!), but this dish was loved by all. We’ll be making again and again!!

I made this for dinner tonight and it was very good! I also managed to make the recipe even easier by just cutting the squash in half and roasting it! Check it out: http://www.notyourparentsgranola.ca/2011/03/14/butternut-mac-and-cheese-with-italian-sausages/

I made this recipe TWICE this weekend- once with gluten free penne, once with veggie spirals (so vibrant)! I omitted the mustard and added pinches of chili powder and nutmeg. I love nutmeg in white sauces. Mmmmm. This is going to be a staple in my house, it’s just a shame (well, almost) that winter’s cozy meals are almost over!

Hi, I live in the UK and it’s not easy to find Nutritional yeast here, I am not vegan but love the idea of your cheese free (or just limited) Mac and Cheeze, any idea of a substitute on the yeast. I am not opposed to parmesan, would that work? x

I saw this recipe featured on fitsugar yesterday and HAD to run home and try it. This was my first attempt at homemade “cheese” sauce and I was absolutely thrilled by the results. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe, your creativity in the kitchen is truly motivational!

I made this last night and it was awesome!! I actually think I preferred the leftovers today. I made it with whole wheat elbows and omited the salt and added 1 tsp of white miso instead. I also added a bunch of chopped steamed broccoli. I made the casserole option…pure comfort food, yum. Thanks for another great recipe!!

I think I may have already asked this, but I’m just curious why you “close” comments on past recipes? I always like to comment if I make something but can’t if I make an older recipe. If I have a question about a recipe that I can’t comment on should I comment about it on the current blog post? ~Leslie

This is my first time EVER commenting on a food blog (recently started a food blog just for fun..very much of a newbie/amateur). BUT, I made with Tri-colored Quinoa Pasta and mixed in Broccoli and Cauliflower and topped with Cayenne Pepper (I love spice!) and baked as a casserole. Paired with Lemon Mushroom Kale with Sweet Bits. DELICIOUS! Thanks so much for the inspiration. I’m trying to do all Gluten Free and Dairy Free recipes due to recent food allergies and you have a great selection!

Hi Angela, I read your blog all the time but have never commented but there’s a first time for everything! I saw this recipe and just knew I would love the flavours but I just wanted a side nit a main dish. You have to try the amazing-ness that is this recipe as “cheesy mash” ie the lemon, garlic, nooch, mustard, salt, pepper, herbs and butternut mashed all yummy and comfortingly together! Mmmmmm
Thank you on behalf of my tastebuds x

Thank you, thank you, thank you! We just started our vegan journey and we have milk, soy AND gluten allergies. This was THE most delicious ” cheese” I have ever tried. My little ones devoured it, NO CLUE it wasn’t the “real” stuff. Oh! And the bread crumbs ( gluten free of course) were so perfect on top. I can’t wait to try more of your recipes!!

thank you so much for this recipe! i’ve been dairy-free for over a year now, but cheese replacement recipes always sort of scared me. however, now thanks to you, i am a changed woman. even my dairy-loving family members were flipping over this dish. i’m definitely adding this to my regular repertoire. :)
oh, i stirred in some halved cherry tomatoes before baking, and it was delicious!

Hey Angela, I know that this post is over a year old but I’m a new vegan, and I’m also attempting to get into shape with very hard workouts, and as such I’m really struggling to get my protein. Do you think I could add some silken tofu into the cheeze mixture for added protein or do you think that it will overwhelm the flavors too much? Some input would be greatly appreciated!

Wow! So I just finished eating it, and it was great. I added about 1/4lb of tofu into the sauce, and I even threw in some pre-cooked left over quinoa, which was never to be seen or tasted again. Thank you so much!

Ps. When I cut open the squash, the seeds had sprouted inside of it. How interesting!

I tried this exact recipe the other night for my husband and I and it was very yummy! It did seem to be lacking that little zingy pop though…it needed something to make it a little more flavorful. I added more salt and that helped a lot. Any suggestions on what to add to help? The nutritional yeast is a great addition, btw. I used it for the first time in this recipe and LOVED it! I’m a huge fan now. :) Thanks for the recipes and keep blogging away!

Hey Kristen, Great suggestion – what about adding a touch of tahini or white miso? I’ve seen both used in vegan mac n cheeze recipes before, but I havent tried it yet myself. Let me know if you try it out!

Didn’t realize there were two butternut squash macaroni and cheese recipe on the site, this one has cashews (I didn’t read the other post carefully, I see you linked to this one there.)
Will be trying this cheeze sauce soon too and comparing the two as I just bought another butternut squash again :-)

Hey just wanted to let you know I made this sauce before and it was fabulous. I was halfway through making it yesterday in preparation for dinner when *gasp* I realized I was almost out of pasta….so I whipped up some pizza dough and used the cheeze sauce in place of tomato sauce. It was delicious :)

I made this for dinner tonight and my husband loved it! We both were big mac and cheese lovers before we went vegan. It had a definite comfort food vibe to it. We love the bread crumbs on it as well. Great recipe and I plan to make this for my carnivore loving parents to get them to see vegan food tastes amazing as well. Thank you!

I have yet to purchase nutritional yeast. I’ve tried the grocers around here but none have it! So I will definitely be ordering online in the near future. However, in the meantime, I did google substitutes for nutritional yeast and found a couple postings on pine nuts. I toasted them first then pureed them in the blender with the cashews and other ingredients and it was very good! I used a little extra squash so it wouldn’t be too “nutty” and the family loved it. I can’t wait to try it with some nutritional yeast though! Thank you for sharing all of this with us. It is a big help to all of us vegans who are still “foodies” ;) keep up the good work!!

Hey! Last night I made this recipe but added steamed broccoli. It was wonderful! My husband rated it a 10 for the best macaroni and cheese recipe he’s had. I really loved it too. I’m excited that it can be made low-fat. Thank you for sharing!

Made the Mac’n Cheese two nights ago for dinner and must say, it’s almost a little ridiculous how good that sauce is! Today marks my first month of being vegan, and thanks to recipes like this one (and many others from your blog) it’s been incredibly easy. Can’t wait for your cookbook!

This dish was a amazing! Thanks for sharing! For the bread crumbs I used sourdough (which gave the dish a whole lot of flavor), added sliced zucchini and a little sprinkle of vegan cheese on the top( gave it a lite creamy sensation). Yum yum!

Hi! What do you guys think of replacing some of the pasta with chopped up baked white potatoes? i know that sounds sorta weird, but I have a lot of digestive issues with gf pasta (GF for medical reasons) but REALLLLY miss mac & chz! Also, how important is the nooch? (issues with that too). i know… trying to change this recipe a lot, but it looks SO DELICIOUS!

I absolutely love that this recipe does not use oil. It is delicious, healthy and decadent. I have tried it twice: once with Butternut Squash and once with Patty Pan Squash- both times were outstanding!

I’ve been drooling over your mac and cheese pictures for over a year and am soooo glad I have finally tried this recipe! My husband was very skeptical, but horray! he loved it too.
I always try to follow the recipe exactly the first time but ended up using almost the whole squash as it shrunk so much when roasted. However it turned out a bit thick so next time I’d just add more almond milk. Or less squash… but the squash is so so good. Thank you for the great recipe!

Made this last night, and it was so delicious! Used quinoa/corn pasta. Added peas and several dashes of cayenne pepper. It is definitely one of my favorite mac ‘n cheese recipes! :) Can’t wait until your cookbook is released!

Just made this for me and my dairy-loving family. They really loved it, even though the sauce went a bit dry as I put it in the oven. I’ll just add some more milk next time. I also put in some brussels sprouts chopped in halves and it was AMAZING.
I really love cheese and at first I was very skeptical whether this would really please my taste buds but it DEFINITELY did!
Thanks a lot for sharing this recipe! :)

I’m eating this recipe as I write this review because it’s that good. I did the version where you don’t bake it like a casserole. I used the refrigerated/pre-packaged butternut squash from Trader Joe’s. Although I didn’t measure out how much it was, it tastes like the right amount. Using this made the process much quicker because I was able to microwave it. You could probably steam fresh butternut squash too. The sauce tastes like it could be on the inside of ravioli! I put it on brown rice fusilli though. I also added sweet peas and steamed cauliflower. Delicious :)

I made the vegan Mac and cheese for dinner, very yummy! Next time I think I will roast the garlic with the squash. Mine had a very strong garlic flavor that my kids weren’t crazy about. I loved it though!

I made this for dinner last night and it was really good. Next time I would save some time and use a jar of organic squash baby food, use less tumeric, add in peas, asparagus or broccoli and definitely add some fresh herbs or maybe even spice it up a bit. Great base sauce to build on and make your own, that’s for sure.

This looks delicious and is on my to-do list. I’m so glad your recipe works well eating from the pot rather than the oven. I rarely seem to use my oven except for baking cookies and other desserts. Which reminds me, I hope it’s ok to steam the squash rather than roast it without affecting the flavor adversely. Thanks so much..

Fantastic recipe! I made both versions, baked and not baked. I prefer the non-baked version as I found it to be less dry and you really taste the sauce, which is absolutely delicious. Thank you for all your incredible recipes! I am so happy I found your website back in October!

I just want to tell you that I love your site. You make me hopeful that I can live a healthier lifestyle without sacrificing all the foods I love. I worked from home today because of the snow and wanted something comforting, so I give this recipe a go, and I am in HEAVEN. So freaking good. I’m bringing some in for my co-workers to try because they kept hearing about it on our call today lol. Thank you so much for always posting such amazing recipes.

I was interested in making this for my 2 year of son. At 9 months he was diagnosed with allergies to peanuts, wheat, soy, dairy and egg. I was told to avoid tree nuts as well. Any advice on how I can make this without cashews?

I have the exact same problem with nut and dairy allergies in my entire household, every vegan Mac and cheese recipe I’ve found requires cashews. I’m really hoping to find a substitute, if you’ve managed to find one anywhere could you please let me know? Thank you :) x

Hi there!
I am very new to vegan cheeze and just made your recipe for butternut squash mac and cheese the first time. I measured exactly as you directed and found the taste to be a little chemically for lack of a better word. I have never used nutritional yeast before. . .is it possible this is where the taste came from? I am prepared to try again– however the first batch was not a success.
thanks for posting such interesting recipes.

A disclaimer that my family is not vegan; I’m newly lactose intolerant, and we’re trying to make some healthier choices.
I just made this dish (from the pot) for the family (minus the turmeric–couldn’t find it in my cupboard; I also roasted the butternut squash w/o peeling first, as others have suggested). I liked it and I think it tasted better the 2nd night. I may cut the nutritional yeast to 6 tablespoons next time–the 5 year old and hubby were so-so on it. He (no word of a lie) ended up melting a slice of processed cheese over top of it. Shudder. My daughter’s first word was “cheese” so you can guess where her allegiances lie. All in all, I enjoyed the dish and will make it again.

I’ve always been dying to try a vegan Mac and cheese recipe, because it’s the food I miss the most! I especially love the use of butternut squash here. But the problem is, I’m highly allergic to nuts; so is there any way to omit/ replace the cashews but still get the creamy consistency in the cheeze sauce? Thanks :) xx

You are a creative vegan genius! I’ve always been weary of vegan cheese- but this! There is currently a wheel of Brie sitting in my fridge, and this still wins for lunch today. I did the casserole bake with broccoli + peas in a cast iron skillet. I loved the creaminess of the cheeze sauce, slightly thick and bursting with flavor. Thanks for another great recipe!

I am obsessed with this recipe. I work for a residential neighborhood for adults 18+ with intellectual and developmental disabilities. We are writing a blog post about Food Allergy Friendly Thanksgiving recipes and I would love to include yours! Let me know!

Hi Rosie, I’m so flattered you’d like to include this recipe in your post! Please feel free to include it. :) If you’re not changing the original recipe, I”d prefer that you simply link to the original; if you do change the recipe significantly, though, go ahead and post it along with your changes and a link back to the original recipe. Thanks!

Thanks so much Angela! Our audience is going to love it. Would we be able to use your feature image of the finished product? The picture really sells it! I can send you the link once it goes live, as well!

This. Is. EVERYTHING! I used sweet potato because I didn’t have butternut squash on hand and it was decadent. I followed Angela’s suggestions of cutting the cashew amount and lemon amount and it turned out wonderfully. I used her roasted brussel sprouts recipe and added those in as my green veggie. The crisp burnt leaves and overall flavor of the sauce was AMAZING! Highly recommend.

Oh WOW! I know this is a 2011 recipe and I am wayyy late to the party but I found this yesterday and tried it last night and it’s just incredible!! My omni husband even agreed, and told me that he prefers this to actual mac and cheese!